The Puckleberry Chronicles
by carrie4angel
Summary: A series of drabbles and shorter oneshots. Other characters from the Gleeverse will make appearances from time to time. Each chapter will be standalone unless otherwise stated. Enjoy :)
1. From Hello

**Disclaimer : I do not own Glee.**

**A.N Dedicated to Mel and Mona who told me I should post this, and also to xXLittle Rose AngelXx who is crazy busy at the minute with very important final year assignments.  
**

Then I felt my cheeks turn rosy pink. It sounded like such an easy question: "Have you met before?" But what answer to give? And why was my entire face suddenly burning with heat? It wasn't a normal reaction and yet I knew that if I looked in a mirror, my cheeks would now be a vivid shade of red.

The man in front of me looked almost amused, but there was some other emotion in his eyes, one that I could not name, just like I couldn't name him. He seemed to be waiting on my reply.

If only I was able to remember. Then maybe I would have said he was the first boy to ever pull my hair; we were both four and wanted the same toy. He was also the boy who would one day walk me home from school, our hands tangled together. That day he would steal a kiss, another first. He was the boy who grew into the most important person in my life.

Somewhere in my head lurked memories of a magical night together. Soft touches, kisses that seemed to last forever. Our souls joining together, imitating the dance of our bodies.

A glimpse of a ring floated before my eyes. Purple stones that glimmered, set in a band of silver, or white gold perhaps? Even now I could feel the weight of the ring on my finger. Although I knew it had rested there for a long time, I couldn't recall who had put it there.

For a brief second I watched as doubt crossed the stranger's face. I couldn't keep watching him, his pain growing with every moment that passed. As my eyes closed I heard snippets of the conversation around me. I lay still on the bed, phrases like _head trauma_, _amnesia_, _possibly_ _long-term_, _so sorry sir_, filling my head.

A warm hand touched mine. A thumb brushed over my knuckles. A familar melody echoed in the sudden quiet. Memories seemed to become less fuzzy, but still my confusion remained.

Normally my memory, my brain, my head were my compass. My guide as I made my way through the twisted road that was my life. This time however it was my heart, that organ that I never truly believed in enough to trust, that gave me the answer I was searching for.

The man wasn't a stranger. He was home.

"Noah."

**A.N. A little different perhaps but I really hope you all like it. **

**Please feel free to let me know what you thought. **

**As ever my thanks to everyone who has taken the time to read ~Carrie**


	2. A Light Through The Darkness

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee.**

**A.N. My thanks as always to my beta reader xXLittleRoseAngelXx who encouraged me to publish this when I wasn't sure it was good enough.**

**Summary: A short story of friendship, love and Happily Ever After. **

"Daddy, do you know where the glue and glitter gun are?" Rachel called out in greeting to her father, Hiram, who had just arrived home after a busy day at work.

"Hello to you too, Star!" Hiram replied, wondering what new project his ten-year-old daughter had started. Only two evenings previous, she and her partner-in-crime had transformed the Berries' outdoor pool into a giant bubble bath, after somehow knocking five boxes of detergent into the water. Rachel had told her parents that she had simply been trying to show Noah how to do laundry when the incident had occurred.

Walking into the family room, Hiram saw Rachel and Noah sitting side by side, both writing furiously on large sheets of coloured paper. "Sorry, Daddy, we're trying to beat a deadline."

"It's very important," Noah added, not looking up but instead trying to find a particular colour of marker, which Rachel handed to him with a smile.

"Can I help?" Hiram asked, wondering what was so urgent that it kept both children inside on such a beautiful summer afternoon. Rachel whispered softly to Noah, her small hand resting on his for a moment. Standing, she made her way into the kitchen, Hiram following, still puzzled by the unusual behaviour of the children. "What did you and Noah do today?" he asked, slightly concerned by how quiet his normally chatty daughter was being.

"Well, Becca is teething again, so Noah got very little sleep last night, you know how that makes him a little grumpy, so he slept on the sofa while I made some cookies. He helped me to ice the special one we made for his mom as it's her birthday but she thinks we don't know that. We want to surprise her, though, so don't tell her please. Anyway, then we decided to make her a big card. That's why I need to use the glitter gun, which you know I'm always careful with after that time I got glitter stuck in Noah's hair."

The speed and content of Rachel's answer was a clear indication to Hiram that something was not quite right, but he knew not to push the matter. Instead, he picked up the tray and brought it back into the family room, noting the look that past between Rachel and Noah.

"Daddy, we were wondering if you could help Noah get a present for his mom," Rachel said.

"I think I know what she'd like, but I'm just not sure where to find it," Noah added.

"We can go to the mall..." Hiram began, only to be interrupted by Noah.

"I want to find my dad, bring him back. I just know if he came back then we could be a family again, that Mom wouldn't be so sad anymore."

"While I've been putting the finishing touches to the card , Noah's been making 'missing' posters, like Mrs Ben Israel made when her cat disappeared, though I think Jacob knows more about that than he's letting on."

"May I see them?" Hiram asked, his heart breaking at the innocence of both children. After Mr Puckerman had left his wife, his son and unborn daughter, both Hiram and Leroy had done their best to shield Noah and Rachel from the worst of the gossip. They had been a great source of support to Sarah Puckerman as she picked up the pieces of her life as best she could. "These are very well made, Noah, but I don't think they will work. Not how you want them to. Sometimes a grown up gets lost and it takes them a long time to find their way again." Hiram chose his words carefully, not wanting to give false hope to the young boy.

Again, he watched as the children whispered to one another, before reaching some decision. "At least Rachel suggested a back-up present for mom. Maybe next year my dad will have found his way back. We don't have to mention him to her, do we?" Noah asked, his voice telling Hiram that the boy was more aware of what was going on, even if he didn't fully understand that his father would probably never return to Lima.

Any further conversation was halted by the ringing of the house phone. After speaking to his husband for about ten minutes, Hiram returned to the family room only to discover it empty, the craft supplies left neatly where they belonged. Hearing hushed voices from the top of the stairs, he found himself moving closer, wanting to check that Noah was okay. He watched as Rachel carefully wiped away a tear that was running down Noah's cheek, before guiding his head to rest on her shoulder.

"We can always go looking for him ourselves, if you want," Rachel said slowly, wanting to do whatever she could to help her friend.

"He knows where we are, Ray. 'Sides, Mom needs me here to help her and I still have to show you how to punch properly, just in case Jacob tries to kiss you again."

"I don't know why he thinks I would want to kiss him anyway. Not after he pulled me hair and stole my ribbon like that last week." Hiram couldn't help laughing at the memory of Noah running after Rachel's would-be suitor; the chase only ended once the smaller boy had been convinced to return the stolen item to its rightful owner.

"Kissing is a strange thing don't you think?" Noah asked.

"Daddy says you should only share kisses with someone special, that it's another way to show them how much you care for them. He also said that you never forget your first kiss so to be sure to make it count."

Noah lifted his head from its resting place, turning so that he could look properly at Rachel. His eyes swept over her face and he felt himself moving closer towards her. "You have such long eyelashes, Ray," he whispered, watching as they fluttered shut, his own mimicking the actions. The first soft brush of his lips on hers almost made Rachel jump, but instead she allowed herself to relax, to enjoy the moment. She felt Noah move away, but it was only for a second. Their lips met again, their hands found each other and time seemed to stand still. Rachel was aware of the rapid beating of her heart, of the way Noah's thumb moved in circles on her hand and the lights that seemed to shimmer in front of her eyes as the kiss came to an end.

"Wow. That was..." For some reason, seeing Noah so lost for words was comforting to Rachel. Her daddy had been right, there was no way she would ever forget a single detail of this kiss she had just shared with her best friend and the look in his eyes told her that the feeling was mutual.

It wasn't until many years later that Noah had finally confessed just how much he had relied on the memory of that moment to keep his sanity through what he referred to as the 'lost years'. It was the one small sliver of light in those dark days of giving up Beth, of watching his mother struggle to make ends meet, of not really knowing if he could be more than the 'Lima Loser' people thought it was. His father may not have found his way back to his family, but Noah proved Hiram's words right, that with enough time, a lost person can find their way home once more, and with Rachel Berry waiting for you, only a fool would stay away.

**A.N. Thank you all for taking the time to read this, please let me know what your thoughts are. Reviews are love! ~Carrie**


	3. Nothing Else Matters

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee.**

**A.N. Thanks to my brother for once again proof reading for me, even if he is kinda mad because he now knows what 'shipping' means! ;) **

**Dedicated to Maria (pretty_gleeky) on Twitter, thank you so much for your words of encouragement 3**

Sometimes being a self proclaimed BAMF is not all that it's cracked up to be. Sure he can reduce any number of his peers to nervous wrecks with only a hint of a growl, can pretty much get out of any class he wants to, simply by flashing the school nurse his trademark smirk. Hell, even Sue Sylvester herself has been known to stop mid rant as a result of a certain look of his. A look that he has spent years developing, one that warns all who see it, of the unspeakable consequences that await any person foolish enough to question his authority.

Puck is pretty certain that if anyone could see him right at this very minute, their attention would immediately be drawn to the girl lying beside him, her identity hidden from prying eyes, but her status as yet another conquest of the Puckasaurus unavoidable, or at least that is how the scene would appear to a casual observer. Few, if any, would understand the significance of seeing a girl actually asleep in his bed, rather their focus, he knew, would be on how she had been enticed to his house in the first place. Which of his patented lines had hooked this particular piece of arm candy and how soon would it be until she is unceremoniously removed from his bedroom. After all, it was only a few hours ago, that Puck proclaimed the fourteenth of February as his favourite holiday, second only to Hanukkah.

There are those who assume his love of Valentine's Day is due, in no small part to the sudden increase of people wanting to avail themselves of his more amourous skills. After all what self respecting 'sex shark' cares if the cougar in his bed is only using him as a substitute for her absent spouse, if the cheerleader hanging off his arm all day only sees him as a way to hide her true feelings for her best friend, or if some other desperate, needy singleton type wants to spend some time with him, so long as Puck can get his mack on.

For the record, Noah 'Puck' Puckerman would like to clear a few things up. Firstly he hates the expression 'get your mack on', and would like to kick the ass of the idiot who invented it, or any one dumb enough to use it in his presence. Second, he would like to remind people of the old adage about those who make assumptions. Third, his love of this particular day has much more innocent origins, stemming from a handmade card sent by a girl who long ago stole his heart. Lastly and perhaps most importantly, he now has higher aspirations than spending any day, not just February 14th, surrounded by any body who can't, or won't see that he is more than just a pawn in someone else's game. Puck is honest enough to admit that this has not always been the case, but ever since joining New Directions sophomore year, he has begun to question some of his decisions. For example his previous, almost passive acceptence of the role of back ground player that had somehow been assigned to him, when really he is one of only a select few who hold enough influence and power, with which he might safely challenge the status quo.

Puck is drawn from his thoughts when the lithe body next to his begins to move ever so much closer, until her head rests comfortably in the crook of his arm. He holds his breath not wanting to disturb his slumbering companion, all the while trying not to laugh at how his post-SAT prep vocabulary has found it's way in to his subconcious. A few minutes later he unexpectedly finds himself struggling to catch his breath for an entirely different reason.

Her touch is gentle, her fingers skimming across the suddenly all too sensitve skin that is within her reach. Puck knows that she is still asleep. Knows that because she still feels shy about the change in their relationship, she often holds back, not wanting to appear clingy and Puck is worried that perhaps they should have waited a bit longer before taking this next step. He can't help but hear the negative comments that others would so willingly whisper in her ear, the accusations they would make against him as publicly as possible, all under the guise of protecting their friend. Puck isn't stupid, when the truth comes out, and it inevitably will, there will be few in McKinley who will have his back, who will think him worthy of her. However so long as she is happy to be by his side, is content to walk down the corridors of the school, or the streets of NYC for that matter, on his arm, that is all he needs.

Somewhere in the midst of all the craziness of the past two years, otherwise known as their personal lives, she has taught him to take a step back, to take a moment before speaking or acting rashly, something which may possibly explain the sharp decrease in sales of Slushies and other frozen beverages that Lima has been experiencing in recent months. Puck likes how she has never once told him to change, merely suggested alternative ways for him to handle the bullies that still roam the halls of the high school, those younger jocks who now think that because David Karofsky has transferred, there is once more an opening for head jerk. There is no way to guarantee that bullying will ever be fully eradicated from McKinley, but Puck is confident that by the time he graduates, it will be a less intimidating place for students. Rachel calls it his legacy, what he will be remembered for long after memories of his other deeds have faded. How instead of just talking about doing something, he actually put his reputation on the line, led by example and was a true leader.

As if she has heard him thinking about her, he hears Rachel yawn quietly, watches as her eyes flutter open, adjusting to the sun light that still floods through the window into his bedrom. The silence in the room is comfortable, neither feeling the need to speak. Instead Puck waits, he knows his girl, knows that she sometimes needs a few minutes to fully wake. "Noah." Her voice is low, it does strange things to his stomach, makes his heart race that bit faster. Just like always he never knows which of them makes the first move, but suddenly Rachel is in his arms, hugging him as if she never wants to let go. Then her mouth is moving against his. There is nothing innocent about this kiss. With every brush of her lips she brands him, claims him as her own and Puck is only too willing to let this happen. To lose himself to the moment, and leave all further thoughts of the future for another time.

Much later, when the moon has risen and Rachel is once again lying in his arms, Puck sends up silent thanks to whatever 'Higher Power' deemed him worthy of this girl.

"Don't do that Noah. Don't allow someone else take credit for what you have done yourself." Rachel whispers. Okay so perhaps his message wasn't as silent as he thought. "In spite of all the challenges you've faced, you've stayed true to youself no matter what the consequnces might have been. And in my eyes that makes you the biggest badass of all."

He raises an eyebrow at the mild curse word she has used, before joking that he has already begun to corrupt her. She silences him with another kiss, more chaste and gentle this time, but all it would take is one spark for the passion to reignite.

The next day, Puck is once more amazed by how quickly rumours can spread around the school. Rachel has been seen by several people wearing a letterman jacket, but apparently no one had any idea that she was back with Finn. He wonders how long it will take for the gossips to actually read the name that is can be found emblazoned accross her shoulders, though to be fair, it is partially covered by her chocolate brown hair.

Then Rachel's hand is in his and everything else is forgotten. Let others speculate, let them throw their accusations. So long as he has her belief, her trust and her love, Puck has everything he needs. Nothing else matters.

**A.N. I would love to know what you all thought of this, so pretty please leave me a review or comment :) ~Carrie**


End file.
